Professional Documents
Culture Documents
To improve this situation, we recommend that the Department of Human Services (DHS) and other
state agencies using the State Civil Service Commission:
Update all job descriptions, including educational requirements, at least every two years.
2. Adequately training caseworkers for the complex, potentially dangerous job they perform
requires immediate and ongoing changes.
To help prepare new CYS caseworkers, the state Department of Human Services contracts with the
University of Pittsburgh: School of Social Works Child Welfare Resource Center (CWRC). To improve
the training, we recommend that the CWRC:
Continue to work with county administrators, caseworkers, instructors and others to gather
feedback on how to improve the training for all new caseworkers known as Charting the
Course.
Change Charting the Course to better prepare new caseworkers by replacing much of the in-
class or group learning to more experiential learning, such as:
o Training on how to interview hostile people,
o Learning motivational interviewing techniques,
o Practicing how to de-escalate a hostile situation,
o Adding personal safety training similar to that provided by Service Access & Management
Inc.,
o Providing hands-on self-defense training,
o Teaching hands-on lessons on illegal substances and substance abuse, and
o Holding mock court hearings, perhaps with retired Family Court judges who would volunteer
their time.
3. Unmanageable caseloads and burdensome, redundant paperwork prevent CYS caseworkers from
effectively protecting children from harm.
4. Pennsylvania caseworkers, particularly those at the entry level, earn a remarkably low salary
given the educational requirements, daily work complexity, and potentially dangerous
components of their jobs.
The average starting salary for a new Caseworker I in the 13 counties we surveyed was $30,018 a
full $20,000 below the average starting salary for other baccalaureate-degree graduates in 2016. To
improve this situation, we recommend that DHS, county commissioners (or other county-level
administrations) and appropriate unions:
Evaluate salaries for caseworkers and supervisors and, where possible, increase salaries based on
experience, educational attainment and equivalent human-services positions.
5. Because of the reasons highlighted in Report Observations 1 through 4, high turnover among
caseworkers greatly inhibits Pennsylvanias ability to effectively protect children.
To improve this situation, we recommend that the suggestions offered for Report Observations 1
through 4 be followed to decrease caseworker turnover rates.
The Pennsylvania Department of the Auditor General also discovered it is certainly not alone in its
concern about county CYS caseworkers and their ability to protect at-risk children. The review yielded
information for two more report observations:
6. Other state-level groups and agencies are reviewing the same problems within Pennsylvanias
child-welfare system in an effort to find solutions.
To make full use of the resources being expended on these examinations, we recommend that DHS
and county CYS agencies:
Review recommendations from other state-level workgroups and agencies and implement best
practices.
Continue to take part in caseworker retention reviews and hearings.
7. States such as Florida and Arizona are tackling similar challenges in their child-welfare systems
and are applying divergent methods to achieve viable solutions.
To make use of the best practices coming from other states efforts, we recommend that DHS Office
of Children, Youth and Families:
Task one person, perhaps the new child protection ombudsman, with communicating with other
states about their child-welfare systems and recommending best-practice changes to
Pennsylvanias system accordingly.
Its a revolving door of workers. Were burning out good workers. Its tough for
a lot of folks to deal with the emotional aspects,
I can do an excellent job with 10 cases. I cannot
plus they just dont have enough time in the day
do an excellent job with 30 cases.
to do the job.
What we do is so important, and weve lost
The bottom line is I dont think children in
sight of that.
(this) county are safe.
Its unbearable.
These are voices of child welfare workers from county children and youth agencies across Pennsylvania.
They represent the opinions of veteran caseworkers and new caseworkers, and the sentiments
expressed are common statewide.
They all point to the same significant issue: Pennsylvanias child-welfare system is broken.
Hiring difficulties,
Inadequate training,
Heavy caseloads and overly burdensome paperwork,
Relatively low pay, and
High turnover.
Other state-level groups or task forces in Pennsylvania are also examining the child-welfare
system and are finding similar problems, and
States such as Florida and Arizona are tackling similar challenges in their child-welfare systems
and are applying divergent methods to achieve viable solutions.
Together, these seven areas form the basis for this special report, which assesses the safety of
Pennsylvanias at-risk children by evaluating how effectively child-welfare caseworkers and managers
are able to perform their requisite job duties. To provide an overview of the various demographic
Allegheny,
Bucks,
Cambria,
Centre,
Crawford,
Dauphin,
Delaware,
Erie,
Fayette,
Luzerne,
Monroe,
Philadelphia, and
York.
Along with the aforementioned seven observations, this report offers 17 recommendations as a starting
point to remedy the myriad issues confronting Pennsylvanias child-welfare system.
This doctrine has been interpreted in the United States to mean that states are responsible for the
health and well-being of their citizens, including children:
The state is the supreme guardian of all children within its jurisdiction, and state courts have
the inherent power to intervene to protect the best interests of children whose welfare is
jeopardized by controversies between parents. This inherent power is generally supplemented
by legislative acts that define the scope of child protection in a state. 3
In Pennsylvania, child welfare is administered through a complex mix of federal, state and county
resources, as well as third-party vendors. The overall structure is known as state-supervised, county-
administered which means, in essence, that each of the commonwealths 67 counties has its own
children and youth services (CYS) agency, all of which are overseen by the state Department of Human
Services (DHS), which designates the Office of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF) to oversee the
system. OCYF operates four regional offices: Southeast, Northeast, Central and Western. The regions
comprise all 67 counties. (see Department of Human Services Office of Children, Youth and Families
chart, page 9.)
Monitoring, licensing and providing technical assistance to county CYS agencies and facilities,
Investigating child abuse when the alleged perpetrator is a county agency employee or one of
its agents,
Monitoring county agencies implementation and ongoing compliance with the Child Protective
Services Law (CPSL) and associated regulations,
Ensuring regulatory compliance of agencies and facilities by investigating complaints and
conducting annual inspections,
Assisting county agencies in the interpretation and implementation of new protective services
regulations, and
Reviewing and recommending approval of county needs-based plans and budget estimates.
1
http://www.encyclopedia.com/law/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/parens-patriae Accessed July
20, 2017.
2
Ibid.
3
Ibid.
4
Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. 2015 Annual Child Protective Services Report.
http://www.dhs.pa.gov/cs/groups/webcontent/documents/document/c_226999.pdf Accessed July 24, 2017.
The bulk of child-welfare costs are split between the state and county agencies in a complicated
reimbursement formula. Generally speaking, counties pay for all costs up front, then bill the state and
federal governments for their portions.
In 2016, a total of $1.811 billion was spent in Pennsylvania for child welfare, according to DHS 2016
Annual Protective Services Report. That amount broke down as follows:
$1.063 billion: State funds
$398 million: County funds
$350 million: Federal funds
Of the $1.461 billion in state and county funding, about 22 percent $232.727 million was spent to
investigate child-maltreatment reports. The largest chunk of that $217.079 million was spent by
Heres a look at how much each of the 13 counties we surveyed spent on child-maltreatment
assessments in fiscal year 2015-16 (investigating Child Protective Services and General Protective
Services reports) 4:
Each year, the state allocates a budgeted amount for child welfare in general, then allocates a certain
amount for each county based on a process known as needs-based budgeting. This process means
management at each CYS agency must use historical data as well as its best estimates about future
needs to anticipate how much money the agency will need to spend for the next two years.
Following is a breakdown of the total amounts the state and county CYS agencies spent in fiscal years
2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 in our 13 sample counties: 5
4
Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. 2016 Annual Child Protective Services Report.
http://www.dhs.pa.gov/cs/groups/webcontent/documents/report/c_260865.pdf Accessed July 24, 2017
5
Department of Human Services, Act 148 forms.
Because each of Pennsylvanias 67 CYS agencies is independently run, each has its own unique structure.
In general, however, most CYS agencies contain some form of the following units:
Screening: Screeners evaluate the information in the referral and make determinations on
whether a report requires investigation. (Counties screen out up to 50 percent of all calls,
meaning those calls are deemed not in need of investigation, according to CYS administrators.) If
a report is deemed in need of investigation, it then moves to the Intake unit. In some counties,
screeners are part of the Intake unit.
Intake: Intake caseworkers are the first to receive referrals that require investigation. These are
the workers who make the initial contact with families and alleged perpetrators to tell them an
allegation of maltreatment has been made, then evaluate whether the child or children named
in the report are living in a safe environment. Intake caseworkers have strict timelines in which
they must see the children named in the report, based upon the severity of the maltreatment
alleged in the referral. The intake caseworker determines within 60 days whether a case is:
o Unfounded: Meaning there is a lack of evidence that a child was maltreated;
o Indicated: Meaning there is substantial evidence that abuse has occurred based on
medical evidence, the CYS investigation or an admission by a perpetrator;
o Pending: Meaning the caseworker cannot complete the investigation within 60 days
because court action has been initiated; or
These changes had a significant impact on the reporting, investigation, assessment, prosecution and
judicial handling of child-abuse and neglect cases. Most notable was the immediate, sudden increase in
child-abuse reports coming into ChildLine, which was suffering from its own shortage of resources and
personnel. (See Audit: ChildLine Shortages, page 13.)
Data provided by DHS shows that the number of calls coming into ChildLine rose a total of 14 percent
from 2014 to 2015, then decreased by 11 percent from 2015 to 2016, as shown below: 7
190,000
180,000
170,000
160,000
150,000
140,000
130,000
120,000
110,000
100,000
6
23 Pa.C.S. 6301 et seq. Act 15 of 2015, effective July 1, 2015, was the last act in this series of 24 acts to be
enacted.
7
Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. 2016 Annual Child Protective Services Report.
http://www.dhs.pa.gov/cs/groups/webcontent/documents/report/c_260865.pdf Accessed July 17, 2017
Of all the reports to ChildLine, only a portion were categorized as Child Protective Services (CPS)
reports, which include an allegation that a child might have been a victim of child abuse. CPS cases
require a county agency to see children either immediately or within 24 hours to determine their safety.
Other calls were categorized as General Protective Services (GPS) cases, meaning they do not rise to the
level of suspected child abuse but allege a need for intervention to prevent serious harm to a child; or
they were given another designation, such as a law-enforcement-only referral. GPS cases allow for a
longer response timeframe since they do not allege immediate danger to a child.
According to DHS, there were 29,517 CPS reports in 2014; 42,018 reports in 2015; and 44,359 reports in
2016, as shown below: 8
45,000
40,000
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
Thats a 42 percent increase in calls specifically alleging child abuse from 2014 to 2015 a workload
change that affected not only ChildLine but also county CYS agencies, which saw a proportionate
increase in the number of referrals caseworkers needed to investigate. Much of the burden fell on
Intake caseworkers, who saw a sudden spike in the number of cases they were required to begin
investigating either immediately or within 24 hours.
8
Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. 2016 Annual Child Protective Services Report.
http://www.dhs.pa.gov/cs/groups/webcontent/documents/report/c_260865.pdf Accessed July 17, 2017.
Although we were very frank and very open with our regional offices and with OCYF about our needs, it
fell on deaf ears, Grace said in 2017. If we couldnt demonstrate the need ahead of time, they couldnt
get us the resources we needed.
My agency has never recovered from that, and were almost two and a half years down the pike,
Grace continued. Its been a downward spiral ever since.
FEDERAL INVOLVEMENT
Although states bear the ultimate responsibility to keep children safe under the 10th amendment to the
U.S. Constitution, the 14th amendment has been interpreted to recognize the rights of and need for the
federal government to be involved in this critical mission.
In 2016, the federal government allocated more than $8.6 billion nationwide for child-welfare-related
services. The majority of that money came through the federal Social Security Act as follows:
Title IV-B of the act authorizes funding to states to support a range of child-welfare-related
services to children and their families.
Title IV-E of the act entitles states to federal reimbursement for part of the cost of providing
foster care, adoption assistance and kinship care. It also authorizes funding to support
youth who age out of foster care.
Here is a look at the amount of federal funds allocated each year from 2012-16, according to the
Congressional Research Service:
Final Funding for Child Welfare Programs
(parts may not sum to total due to rounding)
Most of the federal funds dedicated to child welfare are provided to state child-welfare agencies, such
as Pennsylvanias Department of Human Services (DHS), which oversees the Office of Children,
Youth and Families. To receive these federal funds, state agencies typically must provide a portion of
nonfederal resources usually between 20 percent and 50 percent of the programs cost. The
state agencies must also abide by federal child-welfare policies.
Since 1974, one of the key federal laws in this area has been the Child Abuse Prevention and
Treatment Act (CAPTA). According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CAPTA
provides for federal funding to states to support prevention, assessment, investigation, prosecution
and treatment activities related to child abuse and neglect.
CAPTA was most recently reauthorized by the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 and the
Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016.
State of the Child A special report by Auditor General Eugene DePasquale 17
Pennsylvania received roughly $350 million in federal funds in 2016, according to DHS. That was an
increase from 2015, when it received $344 million.
Report Observation 1: Finding qualified, dedicated professionals to work in child
welfare is a pervasive struggle, particularly for those counties that use the State
Civil Service Commission.
For approximately 50 of the states 67 counties, when job seekers want to apply for county caseworker
jobs in any human-services field, they begin by going to the State Civil Service Commissions (SCSC)
website.
There, job seekers create an online account and view all job openings available through the SCSC. Once
they choose which jobs to apply for, they then choose a day, time and location to take a civil service
examination, if applicable. Job seekers receive their examination results, which include a qualifications
determination and overall examination scores, if applicable, in an average of eight days. Assuming
verification of qualifications and passage of examination, the names of qualified job seekers are added
to a civil service employment certification lists for the jobs for which they applied. From there, counties
can request and obtain a list of candidates for their open positions.
Counties can canvass for interest and availability with as many of the job seekers on the list as they
deem necessary to fill available vacancies. However, counties must initially consider at least the top
three responding and available candidates or more, if they have the same examination scores,
according to Jeffrey Wallace, executive director of the SCSC.
Agencies are required to interview the top available job seekers and, from that group, they can make a
selection or multiple selections, Wallace said.
Wallace highlighted two areas in which using the SCSC to hire is an advantage for counties: First,
veterans have 10 points added to their examination results and receive hiring preference per the
provisions of the Commonwealths Military Affairs Code; second, its consistency in terms of
qualification reviews, Wallace said.
The SCSC provides hiring services for multiple jobs within the human-services field, including County
Caseworker I, County Caseworker II, County Caseworker III and County Casework Supervisor. As of
August 2017, the SCSC had the following number of candidates in each of those categories, 9 according
to Wallace:
State Civil Service Commission statistics
Total # of positions
(filled and vacant) in
SCSC counties Vacancies Candidates
statewide
Caseworker I 440 116 1,014
Caseworker II 2,527 549 238
Caseworker III 289 74 155
Casework Supervisor 565 99 155
Totals 3,821 838 1,562
9
Note that these numbers reflect positions for county children and youth positions as well as Mental
Health/Intellectual Disabilities positions.
County administrators who struggle to hire through the civil service cited similar problems:
Others cited concerns with the test itself, saying that they are looking for qualitative skills such as
interviewing families and the ability to communicate effectively with children, not quantitative skills
which is more what the SCSC test assesses. Many administrators said the test is not a good measure of
whether candidates could be excellent
JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN SCORE WELL ON A TEST caseworkers.
DOESNT MEAN YOU SHOULD WORK WITH Just because you can score well on a
FAMILIES. test doesnt mean you should work
with families, said Kelly Schwab,
KELLY SCHWAB, DEPUTY DIRECTOR
OF CRAWFORD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES deputy director of Crawford County
Human Services.
As of spring 2017, Erie County was just a few weeks away from no longer using the SCSC. Thats taken
us a very long time to accomplish, Rees said.
For the roughly 17 other counties that no longer use SCSC to perform merit employment services 10, the
process to withdraw from using the SCSC was cumbersome, according to several county administrators.
That is because those positions must remain in some form merit based and must be certified as such by
state funding agencies, SCSCs Wallace said. That is so selection and hiring decisions are not influenced
by political considerations.
Cathy Utz, DHS deputy secretary for the Office of Children, Youth and Families, said she recognizes the
pros and cons to using the civil service to hire caseworkers.
In order to receive federal funds, we have to have some sort of meritorious hiring process, she said.
(But) I agree there have been challenges with some components around civil service hiring. (For
example,) how do we ensure the county caseworker test identifies the skills that we need our children
and youth workers to have? How do we make sure that the test gets to the skill sets that we need to get
to?
The alternative opting out of using the SCSC is a lengthy process because counties must have their
own human-resources-level services and must be able to demonstrate that they are adhering to the
merit-hire process, Utz said.
10
Those counties are Adams, Berks, Bucks, Carbon/Monroe/Pike, Centre, Chester, Dauphin, Franklin, Green
Jefferson, Lancaster, Lawrence, Montgomery, Somerset, Venango and Warren, according to SCSCs Wallace.
Were starting to begin to bring to the forefront some of the things that we had been discussing before
the CPSL happened, Utz said.
Wallace agreed that DHS and the SCSC previously had conversations about making changes, including
updating the outdated job descriptions.
We work with the appointing authorities to get the specifications, but we are not the author of them,
he said. We talked with DHS on again and off again to get them to work with us and the counties to
revise and update those specifications, but DHS has not yet done so.
Wallace agreed the Pennsylvania Department of Human Resources (DHS), counties, and SCSC previously
had conversations about making changes, including updating outdated job specifications for the
caseworker jobs classification series.
We work with the state and county hiring authorities to get official job specifications revised and/or
updated, but we are not the author of them. It is the responsibility of the hiring authorities and, if
applicable, the governors Office of Administration to initiate the review process, he said. Although
efforts have been made during the past years with DHS and counties to initiate a review process for the
county caseworker job series, the project is still pending with DHS.
Wallace said, it is his understanding DHS has or plans to form an internal workgroup of DHS and county
administrators to discuss the job specifications, and the SCSC is awaiting the recommendations of the
workgroup.
Recommendations
We recommend that DHS and other state agencies using the State Civil Service Commission:
Update all job descriptions, including educational requirements, at least every two years.
For decades, training was done on the job, as new caseworkers shadowed veteran workers and used
them as mentors. Until 1992, said Mike Byers, director of the University of Pittsburgh: School of Social
Works Child Welfare Resource Center (CWRC), each county was left on their own to onboard and train
their staff, and for some counties that was extremely difficult.
In 1992, DHS then the Department of Public Welfare began working with Shippensburg University
to provide training for all new caseworkers.
In 2001, when there was a need to broaden it beyond training and go to practical learning, Byers said,
DHS signed an intergovernmental agreement with the University of Pittsburgh: School of Social Work,
which continues to provide training for all new caseworkers.
OCYFs current agreement with the University of Pittsburgh ends June 30, 2018. That agreement will be
renewed, DHS Utz confirmed in September 2017.
When (the training) started in the 1990s as a competency-based training program we sat folks in a
room, gave them those competencies, and they went forth and did, said Utz, whose background
includes 11 years at county CYS agencies.
Then it moved into skills-based training. Now, were looking at How do we enhance the skill set that
we have with workers? Utz continued. Can we do some training online, and can we do some
experiential training when we come together?
But many other current caseworkers and administrators offered criticism, some of it harsh.
Charting the Course is a joke, said one caseworker who asked not to be identified in this report. I
think its a complete waste of time. You need on-the-job training for this.
You need a good mentor. Job shadowing is more important, said another Cambria County caseworker.
Several supervisors and county administrators also said they feel the training should be improved
because, in its current form, it requires a lot of supplemental learning that peers and supervisors must
provide.
Charting the Course gives them the foundation of child welfare and why we do what we do, said
Fayette Countys DAuria. But I think that it definitely needs to be supplemented. We do a lot of job
shadowing here.
Charting the Course gives the basics, but of course its very general because then every county does
something different, said Luzerne County Children & Youth Administrator Joanne Van Saun. To help
provide more experiential learning for her new
caseworkers, Van Saun has contacted local
TRAINING IS A PIECE OF WHAT WE DO. colleges drama programs. We might eventually
TRAINING IN AND OF ITSELF IS NOT ask the state if we could have a training unit so
GOING TO GET TO IMPLEMENTATION IN we could train them ourselves. Im not sure that
THE FIELD. (the training now) does really meet our needs.
More practical training rather than theory is better for the staff, Van Saun said. Because most
caseworkers already have at least a bachelors degree with 12 credit hours in social-science-related
classes, Theyve already had the theory, she added.
Monroe Countys Grace agreed: In terms of theory, they dont need a pep talk on why you need to do
the right thing for people. Theyre already there.
Even Delaware Countys Gordon, who likes the current training, said the curriculum could be improved.
I do support the Child Welfare Resource Center moving more to online training and more experiential
(training), she said. Workers love the experiential stuff, and they need it.
CWRCs Byers admitted that there are limitations to how much the CWRC can do to prepare
caseworkers for the job because the work specifics of doing the job vary widely across the state.
Child welfare can look pretty different across those 67 counties, he said. We can only take that
training to a certain level. Then it takes a lot of time for them to work with their peers, be mentored by
experienced caseworkers and be supported by their supervisor.
Founded 20 years ago, SAM is a 600-person company that Were confronting families
serves 37 counties in Pennsylvania and six in New Jersey. 11 about difficult issues and
we have to be confrontational
Roughly 2,000 caseworkers and supervisors approximately
but build a rapport. Training on
50 percent of the states CYS staff have gone through SAMs how to handle that would be
experiential training, according to Ronald Frederick, personal hugely helpful.
safety director.
Police departments are
SAMs training, held in facilities across the state, is an understaffed, too, and dont
interactive experience where caseworkers enter set-up have the time to help us.
scenarios based on real-life experiences that are staffed by
actors with a variety of backgrounds, as well as safety experts I thank Jesus that this
who have law enforcement or corrections backgrounds. (different) position opened up
for me to move to, because
The goal in every scenario is for caseworkers to assess the the last several intakes I went
situation, determine whether their personal safety is at risk as out on I was terrified.
they attempt to do their job, and react accordingly. In most
11
http://www.sam-inc.org/ Accessed July 19, 2017
At a SAM training event in March 2017, Bucks County White continued: And nobodys
caseworkers moved through three scenarios, working in taking into account the amount of
work being done, the time and effort
pairs. Each situation presented different challenges. For
and stress involved in taking a
example, in one mock situation, an actively suicidal man in
report. And thats just to get a report
a home with an apparent meth lab pulled a knife and thats not even talking about the
threatened to kill himself. In another, an obviously amount of work involved if a child
intoxicated mother living in a filthy home with dog feces must be placed. And were placing
and trash on the floor had sent her young child to a kids every week.
nearby park with the family dog as the baby-sitter.
White added that her county in
Again, Frederick stressed, these scenarios are based on particular suffers from an extremely
real-life situations that caseworkers have encountered. high percentage of drug abusers,
particularly opioid users.
Across the state, caseworkers, supervisors and
Caseworkers are continually
administrators gave SAMs safety training resoundingly
assessing parents and caregivers
high marks:
who are active substance
SAMs training has been the most positive abusers, she said. We know a lot
training that Ive seen in 25 years, Fayette of its heroin, and fentanyl and bath
salts and meth.
Countys DAuria said. All caseworkers come back
with glowing reports of the training.
Byers said the CWRC has worked with SAM to create new safety training that is within the required 120
hours of coursework.
My hope is that one day all newly hired caseworkers will have the opportunity to attend this training,
Frederick said. I believe giving them the tools or knowledge of being safe while completing home visits
will better prepare them for doing their jobs, and feeling safer when doing so.
Administrators and caseworkers said they are on board with those types of changes, especially if
motivational interviewing skills including specific training on defusing hostile situations and court
hearing practice are incorporated.
It would be great if they did more simulation-focused training, Monroe Countys Grace said, even if
theyre talking about the same material and the same content. If they were able to present that
differently, caseworkers would get a lot more out of it.
Mock court hearings would be helpful, just more experiential learning like learning how to write a
report, learning how to engage people, Luzerne Countys Van Saun said. It should be about how you
apply the theory that you learned in college.
Both Byers and DHS Utz stressed, however, that even with more experiential learning, casework
supervisors, managers and administrators will continue to be key in helping new caseworkers learn to
do the job properly.
Training is an essential part, but its never going to get you the whole way there, Byers said. Theres
strong evidence that workers need support in the classroom and an enhanced connection to the field,
including making sure theres enough support for new caseworkers in their agencies.
Having supervisors mentoring and coaching is really key to supporting the training that we do through
the Resource Center.
Recommendations
We recommend that the University of Pittsburgh: School of Social Works Child Welfare Resource
Center:
Continue to work with county administrators, caseworkers, instructors and others to gather
feedback on how to improve Charting the Course.
Change Charting the Course to better prepare new caseworkers by replacing much of the
transfer of knowledge learning to more experiential learning, such as:
o Training on how to interview hostile people,
o Learning motivational interviewing techniques,
o Practicing how to de-escalate a hostile situation,
o Adding personal safety training similar to that provided by Service Access & Management
Inc.,
o Providing hands-on self-defense training,
o Teaching hands-on lessons on illegal substances and substance abuse, and
o Holding mock court hearings, perhaps with retired Family Court judges who would volunteer
their time.
For example, a 2007 study published in 2009 by the National Association of Social Workers looked at the
number of available work hours per month (118.25) per caseworker, then determined the average
number of hours per case (6.84). 12 By dividing those two numbers, researchers determined that the
maximum number of cases per caseworker should be 17.
To better determine a caseload size number, Bornman said, PCYA is working with the Penn State
Network for Child Protection and Well-being to try to determine scientifically what the ideal caseload is.
As of spring 2017, researchers were pulling data and quantifying factors based on an algorithm for how
long it takes to handle each kind of case.
Bornman said he believes using caseloads is an unreliable method for determining how much a
caseworker can handle, because one case could have one child involved while another case has 10
children involved. Hed prefer to see a case-weighting system.
Every caseworker has one or two families or cases that take up 90 percent of their time, said
Bornman, a lawyer who has worked as a child-welfare caseworker and as legal counsel for a county
child-welfare agency.
Administrators, caseworkers and supervisors from our 13 focus counties and beyond all cited
unmanageable caseloads as a major source of stress for workers, particularly throughout 2015 and
2016.
Yamatani, Hide; Engel, Rafael; Spjeldnes, Solveig. Child Welfare Worker Caseload: Whats Just Right? Social
12
You spend more time on paperwork than on helping families, I think the amount of paperwork
said one Cambria County caseworker. is utterly ridiculous.
Caseworkers need to be able to spend more time with their I simply dont have enough time
families than on doing paperwork, Crawford Countys Schwab in the day to see families and do
said. all of the required
documentation afterward.
The amount of paper we generate for a case is quite honestly
ridiculous, Centre Countys Sprinkle said. Every time theres a
new initiative or change in the law, theres more paper to fill out.
Weve been part of time studies, and weve clearly shown that it doesnt matter what county you work
in, the majority of your time is spent doing paperwork, Sprinkle continued.
Overall, the study found, caseworkers were spending nearly 30 percent of their time doing paperwork,
more than any other job duty in any given day.
Now, said Crawford Countys Schwab, Doing paperwork takes 60 to 70 percent of a caseworkers time.
It consists of multiple assessments that really get down to some of the root causes, but nobody took
into account how time-consuming that is.
Weve lost a lot of long-term talent in child welfare because of the increased paperwork requirements,
PCYAs Bornman said.
For example, he added, before 2015, when a CPS referral came in, a caseworker could visit with the
family, come back to the office, fill out a CY-48 form which used to be one page front and back in
about 15 minutes, and then fax it to ChildLine.
Now, the CY-48 form 13 is roughly nine pages and takes about an hour to complete, Bornman said. And
once a caseworker has finished the form and a supervisor approves it, often when its sent to ChildLine
for the final disposition to be registered, the form is sent back because one box or another wasnt
checked.
Among other demands on county CYS agency employees time is the need to more closely monitor
third-party vendors who provide In-Home Purchased Services for children and families. When a vendor
submits an invoice claiming to have provided a service, such as in-home counseling or an after-school
program, CYS fiscal staff must verify that:
Multiple audits by the Department of the Auditor Generals Bureau of Children & Youth Audits have
found that these checks are often not performed, creating an environment where fraud is a possibility.
Currently, each county is using one of five software products. For example, Philadelphia and Allegheny
counties each have their own systems. In 56 counties, though, the software used is called CAPS, which
stands for Child Accounting and Profile System.
13
Titled Child Protective Services Investigation Report. See Appendix B
James said he sympathized with caseworkers, especially those in 2015, when CWIS had to be
implemented suddenly and the CPSL changes took place.
Not only did they have to get through all these technical difficulties, but they also had brand-new
(CPSL) guidelines, which required much more reporting, James said. So not only did they have to
struggle with system challenges, but they had to report at a higher rate.
PCYAs Bornman testified before the state House Children & Youth Committee in April 2016, and he
addressed the caseload ratios and unrealistic demands on caseworkers, including the new
documentation requirements in CWIS, which at that time wasnt yet functional:
Most counties have seen a 35 to 50 percent increase in the number of investigations they must
complete, with some counties seeing sustained increases over 2014 investigations of over 100
percent for 2015. I have seen caseworkers carrying upwards of 50 to 75 cases.
Caseworkers are so overwhelmed that they have only two options. They can either spent all
their time working to try and get everything done, to the detriment of their own families and
health, or they make choices about what is most important and the other responsibilities simply
get pushed down the road.
These increased demands have created a situation in which the overload of cases has been
going to the most-seasoned caseworkers out of necessity; however, those workers then get
burned out and move on to other jobs with less pressure and frustration. This has resulted in
newer caseworkers having more difficult and larger caseloads, and many of them burn out
quickly.
I have recently been to one county which had only two-thirds of their caseload-carrying
caseworkers filled. Another had half of the caseload-carrying caseworkers leave within a two-
week time period. These types of vacancies are unsustainable, and it should be little surprise
that the quality of the work suffers.
In Cambria County, one caseworker summed up the challenges of her job succinctly.
We love what we do. We love to make a difference in a childs life but we dont have time to do that
anymore, she said.
Recommendations
We recommend that DHS:
Work to reduce paperwork requirements so that caseworkers can spend more time in the field
with their families. Specifically, DHS should work with the General Assembly to eliminate the
requirement that CY-48 forms must be filled out for all GPS referrals.
Encourage counties to budget to use clerical case aides to type up caseworkers notes from the
field, perhaps at a 1-aide-to-5-caseworkers ratio, to allow caseworkers to spend more time in
the field with their families.
By contrast, starting salaries in Pennsylvania for Caseworker I positions those most commonly filled
by new college graduates averaged $30,018 in 2016 in our 13 focus counties. Based on a 40-hour
workweek, that means these caseworkers earn on average only $14 per hour.
I wish they could have higher salaries, agreed Erie Countys Rees. I wish that we could compensate
them adequately for the type of work that theyre doing.
My starting salary is $29,484, said Fayette Countys DAuria, who added that her countys most-recent
union contract takes workers from Caseworker I to Caseworker II after about 18 months, giving them a
raise to $35,000. Our goal (with the contract) was to get them to the point where they were carrying
cases on their own and making a decent living.
However, DAuria added, she has predominantly Caseworker I staff because once workers are promoted
to Caseworker II, they usually move to another social-service agency, such as Parole or the Department
of Public Welfare, where they make more money. It seems like were always behind, she said of her
agencys salaries compared with other county-level social-services agencies.
We really need to make their pay comparable to other professions that do similar duties, Centre
Countys Sprinkle said. This should be competitive pay, akin to a teacher or police officer.
14
Heres What the Average Grad Makes Right Out of College. Time: Money. April 22, 2015.
http://time.com/money/collection-post/3829776/heres-what-the-average-grad-makes-right-out-of-college/
Accessed Aug. 3, 2017.
Cambria County CYS Administrative Officer Matthew Conjelko recommended a similar pay scale:
Staff starting salaries and benefits for workers should be no less than 3 percent below the
average starting salaries of teachers in the county of operation, with supervisory and
management salaries reflecting an appropriate proportional increase in line with responsibilities
and experience. Current workers should also have similar compensation based on a similar
formula with teachers salaries.
White, Cambria Countys administrator, said she takes particular issue with some of the duties her
caseworkers must perform. They have to watch people pee in a cup. They have to notice if someones
trying to use someone elses urine, she said of her staff having to administer drug tests. Id like them
to feel like theyre being compensated commensurate with what theyre doing.
PCYAs Bornman said the breakdown is roughly 17 percent paid by the county, 69 percent paid by the
state and 14 percent paid by the federal government.
Though counties pay the smallest portions, decisions on whether to fill vacant positions are often made
by a countys commissioners or executive board and that sometimes can cause a rift between county
children and youth agencies (CCYAs) and commissioners.
For example, several administrators said, county commissioners sometimes see open caseworker
positions as a way to potentially save money, so they will not allow the administrator to hire to fill the
caseworker spot for a given length of time.
White has dealt with that issue in Cambria County. Our commissioners have to approve to fill vacancies
or create new positions, she said. We got new commissioners a few years ago who support filling
vacancies when they occur, but our previous commissioners liked us to wait for a period of time before
filling a position to save them money.
However, she added, she also had to keep overtime down. In 2016, she said, she spent time every day
with a spreadsheet, repeatedly having to explain to county commissioners why her caseworkers had
overtime.
I dont feel its all about money, but its a factor, said Delaware Countys Gordon, who added she
would bump all workers salaries by about $3,000 if she could.
Gordon was among the many administrators those who expressed pride in their staffs, calling them
dedicated and committed.
This work has to be in your blood, Gordon said. It is, like, The Few, The Proud, The Child-Welfare
Workers.
It isnt only about money for people, Monroe Countys Grace agreed. Yes, they want to be fairly
compensated, but its about having that ability to truly do the work that they set out to do in the first
place.
Recommendations
We recommend that DHS, county commissioners (or other county-level administrations) and
appropriate unions:
Evaluate salaries for caseworkers and supervisors and, where possible, increase salaries based on
experience, educational attainment and equivalent human-services positions.
However, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of child, family and school social workers in
local government agencies in Pennsylvania has remained stable since 2012 and is expected to continue
to remain relatively stable:
As a result, the number of caseworkers remaining stable as work increased plus too little training, too
many cases and too little pay created high turnover rates.
In 2016, PCYA surveyed 66 counties to determine their turnover percentages during the 2014-15 fiscal
year. Here is the data for the 12 of our 13 focus counties that participated:
In the worst cases, counties saw direct-service turnover as high as 50 percent (Dauphin), 43 percent
(Crawford) and 40 percent (York).
Like other administrators, Clark said the highest turnover occurs in his Intake unit, which notoriously has
the most stressful positions. Thats where it really just keeps turning over, he said. Even when you
have to hire new caseworkers, what a lot of people forget is they cant just come on and take cases.
They still have onboarding and training to go through. It takes at least six months to a year before you
can give a caseworker a full caseload. But we dont have the luxury to wait that long anymore.
Clark, whose background includes time as a caseworker as well as time working on policy at the state
level, said in spring 2017 that most of his casework staff had been on the job for fewer than two years.
In Intake, 80 percent of them are here under a year, he said. To have a workforce thats
predominantly under one year, Ive never seen that in my 25 years of doing this. Its unprecedented.
Recommendation
We recommend that the suggestions offered for Report Observations 1 through 4 be followed to
decrease caseworker turnover.
For the workgroups 2016 State Roundtable Report, 15 members examined three topics, including the
impact of caseworker retention on permanency for children. The group highlighted the same issues
detailed in this report:
Caseworkers who lack the education and training, who carry caseloads that are too high to
manage, who struggle with the impact on their personal lives and who lack the organization
structure or necessary supervisory support often become overwhelmed and leave their jobs.
Specifically, the workgroup broke down the impact of caseworker turnover on the courts, CCYAs, county
commissioners and the state, and children and families, as well as the fiscal implications associated with
turnover.
Among the impact the workgroup found specifically on children and families: 17
Having to relive the trauma by telling their story over and over again;
Delays in reunification;
Information getting lost in translation or lost completely;
Delays due to newer caseworkers time to familiarize themselves with the case;
15
http://www.ocfcpacourts.us/assets/files/page-447/file-1507.pdf Accessed Aug. 8, 2017
16
Ibid.
17
Ibid.
The workgroups second report, the 2017 State Roundtable Report, 18 also highlighted the fiscal
implications of high turnover. Specifically, it surveyed counties and examined the costs associated with
individual turnover during 2015-16, then multiplied that amount by the number of caseworkers who
resigned during the year. The amount varies based on factors such as distance traveled for training: 19
In the 2017 report, the workgroup offered suggestions to help improve caseworker retention, including
ones that cost nothing, ones that cost a little and ones that can cost a lot but do little (such as raising
pay without changing organizational structure to better support caseworkers).
The report also found that caseworker retention directly impacts child safety:
A highly-skilled child welfare workforce is necessary to meet the complex and critical needs of the
children and families it serves.
Greg Grasa, the committees executive director, said in May 2017 that, since hes been working with the
House committee, Every day in one way or another, Ive seen how the child-welfare system is
struggling.
The committee has identified the same issues with the system, he said:
Hiring difficulties, especially for those using civil service;
18
http://www.ocfcpacourts.us/assets/files/page-447/file-1636.pdf Accessed Aug. 8, 2017
19
Ibid.
To that end, the committee is considering whether to recommend legislation to incentive caseworkers
to stay in the profession, he said.
Utz agreed that a concerted effort must be made to improve the publics view of CCYAs and
caseworkers.
Child welfare staff should be respected and valued in their communities, she said. Its critical to the
morale and the health (of our workers), and in helping to eliminate some of the workforce issues that
we have.
The Children & Youth committees hearings will continue in the fall of 2017, according to Grasa. That
hearing will focus on hiring methodologies, including the difficulties counties that use the SCSC have.
Recommendations
We recommend that DHS and county CYS agencies:
Review recommendations from other state-level workgroups and agencies and implement best
practices.
Continue to take part in caseworker retention reviews and hearings.
Florida
When Pennsylvania was passing amendments to its CPSL in 2014, Florida was making sweeping reforms
to its child-welfare system. The reforms came about because of a Miami Herald series called Innocents
Lost, which focused on 477 child deaths in the state over a six-year period, according to Dr. Patricia
Babcock, co-director of the Center for Behavioral Health Integration at Florida State University College
of Medicine.
If the article was never written, nothing would have changed, Babcock said in spring 2017.
Before 2014, Floridas child-welfare system was struggling with many of same problems as
Pennsylvanias, Babcock said. Exacerbating the problem was that, in 2013, Floridas legislature cut
funding to the states Department of Children & Families (DCF) by $80 million which, according to the
Miami Herald, eventually grew to about $100 million.
We converted to a completely different system that now has a true practice model, Babcock said.
Now, when a call comes into Floridas child-abuse hotline, a state employee screens whether the call
warrants an investigation. A community-based investigator, also a state employee, then does the child
protective investigation and determines whether ongoing case management is needed.
But once a family is accepted for services, the states direct involvement ends, Babcock said. The rest of
the process is managed by case-management organizations throughout the state.
DCF contracts with what we call community-based care entities, which are specific to each
community, she said. They are responsible for all of the case-management services, foster care,
kinship care, etc.
Because the changes are relatively new, Babcock said, its tough to assess how well the new system is
working. For example, she said, the complaints about burdensome paperwork and heavy caseloads
persist. Its creating the right efficiencies, she said. We need some organizational psychologists to
come in and say, This is a better way to do more efficient work.
I think there is the potential for them to be safer, she said. Do we do a better job of identifying them?
Absolutely. Do we do a better job of getting them the right services at the right time? Absolutely not.
Because we dont have the resources to meet those demands.
Babcock also echoed sentiments expressed by several Pennsylvania experts about the need for a
community approach to look out and care for at-risk children.
By the time kids come to the attention of DHS, they have gone through the medical system, theyve
been in the community, theyve been in an early-learning or a school environment, sometimes their
parents have been through the criminal justice system, she said. But when things go wrong, its the
child-welfare system that gets blamed.
Safety, permanency and the well-being of children should be a collective priority for all of these
systems rather than a silo approach, she said. We need to put all the silos on the same farm.
Arizona
Until 2014, Arizona was facing problems much like Pennsylvanias. 20,21 For example, when caseworkers
quit, they would often cite the following reasons:
High caseloads (caseworkers were handling an average of 145 cases, seven times the
recommended caseload of 20);
A lack of training;
Inadequate compensation; and
Poor supervision.
Other child-welfare experts cited the constant understaffing, underfunding and lack of technology as
severe stressors for caseworkers. In 2014, the average annual turnover rate for caseworkers was about
35 percent.
Arizonas solution was for then-Gov. Jan Brewer to create an agency, called the Division of Child Safety
and Family Services, dedicated to child welfare. Previously, Arizonas Child Protective Services had been
embedded in the Department of Economic Security, a catch-all department much like Pennsylvanias
DHS. Now, the division is its own cabinet-level department, with a different model for approaching
problems, according to Governing magazine, which spoke to Shalom Jacobs, deputy director of the new
Department of Child Safety:
20
Wogan, J.D. How Arizona Fixed Its Broken Child Welfare System in 2 Years. Governing, April 27, 2017.
http://www.governing.com/topics/health-human-services/gov-arizona-child-welfare-greg-mckay.html Accessed
Aug. 21, 2017.
21
Wogan, J.D. Arizona Makes Child Safety a Priority. Governing, Jan. 28, 2014.
http://www.governing.com/topics/health-human-services/gov-arizona-makes-child-safety-priority-sets-up-
standalone-agency.html Accessed Aug. 21, 2017.
Now its the staff themselves who diagnose problems, propose solutions and then try out their
ideas.
Jacobs, a former foster parent and police officer, told Governing magazine for its April 2017 article that
Arizona decided to change its wholesale approach to child welfare:
Historically in Arizona, and in every state around the country, child welfare is riddle with events
that cause constituencies to react heavily. Theyre usually followed by public outcry, knee-jerk
policymaking, funding swings, priority swings and failure.
We put in systems of standard work and visual management. Now this place, which was crisis-
driven every day for decades, has become a very stable and calm organization that responds to
the demands but does it with a certain process in place, and its working.
Jacobs said he believes the system is not fixed, but I would definitely say were on the mend.
Recommendation
We recommend that DHS Office of Children, Youth and Families:
Task one person, perhaps the new child protection ombudsman, with communicating with other
states about their child-welfare systems and recommending best-practice changes to
Pennsylvanias system accordingly.
Changes to the CPSL have helped to raise awareness of child maltreatment among mandated and
permissive reporters, so ChildLine is seeing more calls alleging child abuse. But that increase in calls in
turn means an increase in the workload for CYS caseworkers, particularly Intake caseworkers, who must
assess the safety of children in a short amount of time while being overburdened with cases and
paperwork.
Despite the necessary involvement of the full community, CYS caseworkers take the brunt of the blame
when a child dies and yet they are not trained well enough, are not paid well enough, are not given
access to the resources they need to properly protect these children.
As Cambria County Administrator Betzi White said, We cant take the stress anymore. But if we dont
do this job, then who will? Someone has to fight every day to keep children safe.
We recommend that the University of Pittsburgh: School of Social Works Child Welfare Resource
Center:
10. Continue to work with county administrators, caseworkers, instructors and others to gather
feedback on how to improve Charting the Course.
11. Change Charting the Course to better prepare new caseworkers by replacing much of the in-
class or group learning to more experiential learning, such as:
Training on how to interview hostile people,
Learning motivational interviewing techniques,
Practicing how to de-escalate a hostile situation,
Adding personal safety training similar to that provided by Service Access & Management
Inc.,
Providing hands-on self-defense training,
Teaching hands-on lessons on illegal substances and substance abuse, and
Holding mock court hearings, perhaps with retired Family Court judges who would volunteer
their time.
We recommend that DHS, county commissioners (or other county-level administrations) and
appropriate unions:
13. Evaluate salaries for caseworkers and supervisors and, where possible, increase salaries based
on experience, educational attainment and equivalent human-services positions.
Marc Cherna, Allegheny County Department of Human Services Office of Children, Youth & Families
Lynne Kallus-Rainey, Bucks County Children & Youth Social Services Agency
Betzi White, Michelle Rager and Matthew Conjelko, Cambria County Children and Youth Services
Annmarie Kaiser, Dauphin County Social Services for Children and Youth
Lana Rees and Scott Coughenour, Erie County Office of Children & Youth
Cathy Utz, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Office of Children, Youth and Families
Mike Byers, University of Pittsburgh: School of Social Works Child Welfare Resource Center
Ciara Meyers family: Hope Rohde, Ron Rohde, Alice Gehman, Stephanie Cordas and Jason Gehman
Bev Mackereth
Cambria County Children and Youth Services caseworkers, social workers and supervisors
The 37 families who contacted the Department of the Auditor General seeking to share their experiences
with Pennsylvanias child-welfare system
The 12 caseworkers who contacted the Department of the Auditor General to share their experiences
working in the child-welfare system
CWRC: University of Pittsburgh: School of Social Works Child Welfare Resource Center (page 23)
Definition: This is entry level professional social service work in a County Children and Youth, Mental
Health/Mental Retardation, or Human Services Agency.
Employees in this class participate in formal and informal county agency training programs which
provide knowledge of the methods, procedures, rules and regulations necessary to perform social
service and case management supportive services to children, youth, and families, people who are
mentally disabled, people who are physically challenged, and others to assist them in attaining a more
satisfactory social, economic, emotional, or physical adjustment. The work assigned is limited in scope
and difficulty, and is performed under close supervision, but as knowledges and skills are acquired, more
latitude in judgment and decision making is permitted. Work is performed under the close supervision
of a professional social service or administrative supervisor and is reviewed through individual and
group conferences, assignment of professional reading, attendance at training programs, and the
reading of records and reports.
Examples of Work: Participates in formal and informal training programs which provide basic
knowledge relative to agency purpose, services provided, client population characteristics, and
applicable laws, methods, procedures, rules and regulations governing the operation of the agency.
Learns about the network of available community resources by reviewing resource files, site visits, and
working with and observing higher level caseworker staff.
Receives instruction regarding the reason for and proper completion of applicable forms and paperwork.
Performs a variety of entry level social services and case management duties designed to provide
supportive services to children, youth and families, people who are mentally disabled, people who are
physically challenged, and others.
Assists clients and their families in developing and using their own potential for more adequately
resolving their social, health, emotional and economic problems.
Provides or assists in the provision of social services, such as placement of children and adults in foster
or adoptive homes, day care centers, domiciliary care facilities, or institutions.
Guides clients in home and budget management, housing, child care and parenting skills, employment,
recreation and living arrangements.
Schedules and conducts interviews and follow-up visits to provide service and counseling.
Makes referrals to other public and private social services and community agencies and resources to
meet client needs; assists clients and their families in understanding and utilizing these resources.
Documents activities and services using designated agency methods and procedures, including social
service summaries, correspondence and reports.
Required Knowledges, Skills, and Abilities: Knowledge of the basic principles of economics, sociology,
psychology, and other social sciences.
Knowledge of current social, economic, and health problems and their impact on the growth and
development of people.
Knowledge of human development and behavior including the individual, family, and group.
Ability to understand and accept the needs and rights of others and to work with adults and children
who are physically challenged, mentally disabled, emotionally troubled, and economically
disadvantaged.
Ability to learn, interpret, and apply relevant laws, regulations, and policies governing agency services.
Ability to learn how to conduct individual and family interviews and to use them to identify individual
and family problems.
Ability to learn how to effectively interact with individuals, families, and as a member of a treatment
team.
Ability to plan and organize work, prepare adequate records and reports, set priorities, and learn to
maintain a caseload in an effective and timely manner.
or
Two years of experience as a County Social Services Aide 3 and two years of college level course work
which includes 12 college credits in sociology, social welfare, psychology, gerontology, criminal justice,
or other related social sciences;
or
Any equivalent combination of experience and training which includes 12 college credits in sociology,
social welfare, psychology, gerontology, criminal justice, or other related social sciences and one year of
experience as a County Social Services Aide 3 or in a similar position performing paraprofessional case
management functions.
Definition: This is professional social services work in a County Children and Youth, Mental
Health/Mental Retardation, or Human Services Agency.
Employees in this class provide a full range of social and case management services to children, youth
and families, people who are mentally disabled, people who are physically challenged, and others to
assist them in attaining a more satisfactory social, economic, emotional, or physical adjustment. An
important aspect of this work is the employment of casework skills in obtaining essential information,
counseling clients and members of their families, and helping them to utilize all available
resources. Work also involves the application of problem solving techniques, providing counseling to
maximize service delivery and to achieve service plan goals, monitoring client behavior, and interacting
with agencies which make up the service network. Work is performed in accordance with established
regulations, policies, and procedures, but employees are expected to exercise initiative and judgment in
discharging their duties. Supervision may be exercised over paraprofessional and/or clerical staff. Work
is reviewed by a professional social service or administrative supervisor through regularly scheduled
individual and group conferences, and the review of records and reports.
Examples of Work: Obtains information from clients, members of their families, and others, necessary
for the identification of social, economic, emotional, health or physical problems and for assisting clients
in obtaining a wide variety of services on the basis of established policy, regulations and statutes.
Provides casework and counseling services to clients and members of their families to aid them in
achieving a more satisfactory adjustment to their specific problems or situations.
Provides protective and supportive services for abused or neglected children and adults.
Provides protective and supportive services for clients who are in situations detrimental to their well-
being or that of the community, or who are undergoing treatment or hospitalization.
Participates in team meetings for the purpose of developing service plans to address the needs of clients
and their families.
Continually assesses the adequacy of client service plans and revises, when necessary, to achieve goals
and objectives.
Identifies appropriate community resources for clients, refers and links them to those resources, and
advocates on behalf of client for resource service delivery.
Works collaboratively with social agencies, hospitals, clinics, courts, and other community resources.
Teaches clients home and budget management, child/adult care, and parenting skills; and assists with
housing, employment, recreation and living arrangements, as required.
Attends staff meetings, individual and group supervisory conferences, and training programs designed
to develop performance and case management skills and that continuously familiarize staff with current
methods and techniques in the field of social services.
Documents case activity through records, social studies, case histories, correspondence, and reports
according to applicable policies and procedures.
May serve as a lead worker for professional staff and student interns.
Required Knowledges, Skills, and Abilities: Knowledge of current social case management principles,
techniques, and methods.
Knowledge of current social, economic, and health problems and resources and the recognition of their
impact on the growth and development of people.
Knowledge of individual and group development and behavior and ways of working effectively with
adults and children who have social, economic, emotional, or health problems.
Knowledge of the basic principles and methods of program interpretation and community organization.
Knowledge of social welfare policy and law as they relate to agency function and purpose and societal
structures.
Ability to work effectively with people and aid them to grow in the constructive use of their potential in
adjusting to their specific problems.
Ability to understand and accept the needs and rights of others and to work with adults and children
who are physically challenged, emotionally troubled, or economically disadvantaged.
Ability to conduct individual and family interviews and to use them to identify individual and family
problems.
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients, their families, other staff,
outside agencies and institutions, and the general public.
Ability to plan and organize work, prepare adequate records and reports, set priorities, and maintain a
caseload in an effective and timely manner.
Ability to interpret and apply relevant laws, regulations, and policies governing agency services.
or
or
or
A bachelor's degree which includes or is supplemented by 12 college credits in sociology, social welfare,
psychology, gerontology, criminal justice, or other related social sciences and one year of professional
social casework experience in a public or private social services agency;
or
Any equivalent combination of experience and training which includes 12 college credits in sociology,
social welfare, psychology, gerontology, criminal justice, or other related social sciences.
NATURE OF WORK
This is professional social service work of a supervisory nature. Employees supervise the provision of
case management services to children, youth and families; persons with physical, mental and/or
developmental disabilities; and others, to assist them in attaining a more satisfactory social, economic,
emotional or physical adjustment. The work involves supervising and training a small group of
professional social service workers, paraprofessionals and clerical staff. An employee may also carry a
caseload.
JOB REQUIREMENTS
You may be tested before your qualifications are reviewed. Your test results will count only if you meet
all job requirements. If after reading the requirements you are not sure you qualify, contact one of the
Commission's offices listed at the end of this announcement.
You must be a Pennsylvania resident, of good moral character and able to perform the essential
functions of the job.
Some of the positions in this job title come under the provisions of the Child Protective Services Law. If
you are a final candidate for one of these positions, you will have to provide reports on your background
from such sources as the Pennsylvania State Police and the Pennsylvania Department of Public
Welfare. If your background is unacceptable, you will be disqualified for employment in such
positions. You will receive information about these requirements and how to obtain the required
reports at the time you are being considered for employment.
Some of the positions in this job title come under the provisions of the Older Adults Protective Services
Act. If you are a final candidate for one of these positions, you will have to obtain a report of criminal
record information from the Pennsylvania State Police or a statement that the State Police Central
Repository contains no information relating to you. If you are currently a Pennsylvania resident and a
final candidate but have not been a resident for two years prior to the date that you received
notification that you are a final candidate, you are also required to furnish a report of Federal Criminal
History Record Information from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. If your background is
unacceptable, you will be disqualified for employment in such positions. You will receive information
about this requirement and how to obtain the required reports at the time you are being considered for
employment.
Two years of professional experience in public or private social work and a bachelor's degree with major
coursework in sociology, social welfare, psychology, gerontology, criminal justice, or other related social
sciences;
Clarification of Requirements:
The equivalency statement under "Minimum Requirements" means that related advanced education
may be substituted for a segment of the experience requirement and related experience may be
substituted for required education, except for 12 college credits in sociology, social welfare, psychology,
gerontology, criminal justice or other related social sciences. Unrelated experience or education will not
be accepted.
The system
The system doesnt work. We are not breaking the cycle of abuse and neglect. We are still
seeing generations of the same families presenting with neglect and abuse issues.
Additional paperwork does NOT ensure childrens safety. It only creates situations where
caseworkers have less time to do direct services with clients and ultimately places children at
higher risk of abuse/neglect.
There are unrealistic expectations. It is impossible for a CYS worker to complete everything that
he/she is expected to do with the expectation that it all be done well. It doesnt matter how
experienced or well-trained a worker is, one person can only accomplish so much within a work
day.
Continuing to expand what is expected of CYS agencies without providing them with the
resources to do so only sets up a system where the quality of services is poor.
Reduction of paperwork
Paperwork should not be redundant. The Safety Assessment and Risk Assessment need to be
made into one form. The areas (drug and alcohol, domestic violence, housing, etc.) being
assessed are similar, so workers are unnecessarily documenting information twice.
If there are 5 children and 5 different allegations, then there are 25 allegations listed within
CAPS. CWIS/CAPS needs to be redesigned so that when there are 5 children with the same
allegation (such as inadequate hygiene) that it isnt inserted 5 different times (once for each
child) into CAPS. There should be one allegation that enables more than one person to be
attached to it. It is time consuming to complete the way it is currently set up.
If it is evident that ChildLine forwarded a report to law enforcement, then CYS should not have
to forward the same report to law enforcement again. Of course, there would still be contact
between CYS and LEO for investigative purposes. CYS would just not be wasting time doing a
task that was already done by ChildLine.
The laws
Laws need to be geared toward ensuring childrens safety. Documentation does not ensure
childrens safety; it only explains what actions were and were not taken that is, if the worker
even has time to provide thorough, detailed documentation.
Current laws do not ensure childrens safety from known sexual offenders. Megans Law doesnt
prohibit offenders from residing with children. There are often no criminal stipulations for
criminally convicted sex offenders not to reside with children or not to be alone with children.
There are no laws which would prohibit a judge from giving a sexual offender house arrest
within a home where children reside. Even the CPS law (which is geared to ensure childrens
safety from their inappropriate caregivers) fails to recognize a Tier II or Tier III sexual offender
having unsupervised contact with their own child as a form of child abuse.
Training
Caseworkers seem ill prepared for this job, even after completing Charting the Course.
There should be tests attached to the trainings regarding the laws and regulations to ensure
that the worker knows this information. Yes, it would require that they actually study the
information and then hopefully retain it. In order to do a good job, they need to know the laws
that apply to this job.
More trainings should be interactive simulations of real situations such as the safety training or
training where workers interview real children, not other caseworkers who are pretending to be
children.
Field training and hands-on training is extremely valuable. Therefore, a lot of training should
involve the new caseworkers shadowing other experienced caseworkers in the field and learning
the paperwork process this way as well. The more-experienced worker would be role-modeling
for the newer worker. They would be completing the paperwork together. The new worker
would then gradually start taking the lead in the field and completing the paperwork with the
more-experienced worker overseeing this.
There needs to be some upfront training on how to de-escalate hostile individuals and training
on strategies/methods to gain the clients cooperation and commitment to making changes.
Retention
This job is not for everyone, no matter how much training or what type of training is given.
Workers feel overwhelmed for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to dealing with
hostile individuals, having many time constraints/due dates for completion of tasks, having so
many job tasks that they cant keep up, not being able to complete one task before some else
needs their immediate attention, working long hours, and worrying if all the right decisions were
made to ensure a childs safety. You see people at their worst, and it has an emotional toll on
you. It is easy to become burnt out very quickly.
Some staff (caseworkers and supervisors) do paperwork on their own time in order to keep up.
No one is asked to work for free, but it is occurring. Adding extra hours to your day can be tiring,
but knowing youre behind in your paperwork is also emotionally draining.
Workloads need to be manageable for both caseworkers and supervisors. Supervisory staff is
also overwhelmed with their workloads and have difficulty keeping up.
o It is difficult to give everything the attention it needs. It can be difficult to spend quality
time in direct supervision with caseworkers due to the extensive workloads of both the
caseworker and the supervisor.
o Sometimes supervisors are doing casework due to the agency being understaffed, or
there being no available caseworker at that time to handle that particular situation, or
the assigned caseworker does not have the time to complete a task on time.
It is a vicious cycle when workers quit due to being overwhelmed, thus leaving the remaining
workers with even more tasks to complete and feeling even more overwhelmed than they
already were, resulting in additional workers wanting to quit. We very rarely are functioning at
full staff.
A caseworker who no longer works here said, A supervisor can either make you or break you
here. A supportive supervisory staff can help improve job satisfaction. At times, it can be a
difficult balancing act to be supportive while at the same time ensuring that the necessary steps
are being taken to assess/address childrens safety/well-being and ensuring that regulatory
requirements are met.
Positive attitudes need to be presented from management. Grumpiness and negativity is
contagious.
STATE of the
CHILD
A special report by
Auditor General Eugene DePasquale